Change of formation proved crucial to Staxigoe
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A CHANGE of formation lay at the heart of Staxigoe’s triumph, boss Andrew Banks claimed.
United had gone into the Colin Macleod Memorial Cup final with a loss of form that saw them lose pace with the title race and dumped out of the Eain MacIntosh Cup.
Banks decided that if Staxigoe were to retain the trophy they won last season, he would have to go back to the drawing board.
It paid dividends as the cup headed back to Staxigoe following a dominant display to beat Castletown 4-0.
Banks said: “We changed the formation to a 4-4-2 but with a diamond midfield as opposed to having two wingers. We tried that last year and it worked for us.
“We had quite a lot of the ball. The formation works well against teams that only have two players in the middle. We used the extra man in that area to play some passing triangles in order to frustrate the opposition.”
Castletown boss James Robertson was disappointed with his side’s performance, feeling that the occasion had got to some of his boys.
He said: “It was a great achievement in getting to the final.
“The main priority for us is to win promotion, if I’m being honest.
“We would have loved to have won it, though. This cup means a lot to both ourselves and the village of Castletown.
“Staxigoe were better in most areas of the park. They were worthy winners at the end of the day but we’ll be back and in a lot more finals – I’m sure of that.”
